Slim Aarons was the preeminent lifestyle photographer of the twentieth century. For more than forty years, he documented the manners and mores of society, celebrities, and the leisure class and bore witness to the evolving countenance of society from multiple angles. No other photographer comes close to documenting privilege in the twentieth century at the scale and depth in which he operated.

As he told his longtime friend and editor Frank Zachary, “From now on, I’m going to walk on the sunny side of the street. I’m going to have fun photographing attractive people, doing attractive things in attractive places...” For more than four decades, Slim did just that. He traveled the world, packed lightly and moved fast, or as he said, “No assistants, no props, no stylists, no lights, no problems. That's how I work.” Of course, his speed and professionalism were topped only by his charm, the true secret to his success.

"His pictures are the work of a consummate artist in the guise of a photojournalist. They are carefully crafted, articulated images shaped by a keen sense of form and design. It is their impeccable and seemingly artless composition that makes Slim’s photographs so easy to enjoy and appreciate…over and above their technical virtuosity, Slim’s photographs are profoundly human. His images have the glamour and appeal of the movies but with a vital difference; he projects fantasy that is based on reality—the good life that exists beyond the foxhole and battlefield." - Frank Zachary on Slim Aarons

Leisure Piece offers premium quality photographic prints from the Slim Aarons Archive, owned and housed by Getty Images. All photographs are printed by Leisure Piece and authorized by the Getty Images Gallery.

Sailing on the Adriatic – Slim Aarons Framed Italian Sailing Print. Photographed in the summer of 1956 off Italy’s Adriatic coast, this image—often referred to as Adriatic Sailors—captures a group of Milanese holidaymakers stretched out across the deck of a wooden sailboat. Dressed in matching striped tops and white shorts, they lounge in sync with the sea—relaxed, playful, and unaware of the camera. The mood reflects a postwar Italy in transition—moving from austerity to affluence, from ration books to Riviera leisure. By the mid-1950s, resorts along the Romagna Riviera, including Rimini and Riccione, were being reborn. This framed vintage Italian sailing print fits naturally into coastal homes, minimalist interiors, or travel-inspired spaces. It pairs well with mid-century Italian photography, European summer wall art.

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